Reefert Church

Overview

About Reefert Church

Why stop

Atmospheric woodland setting
Unusually intact early church details and grave markers

Heads up

Short stepped approach
Small ruin that is easy to overlook

Reefert Church rewards a short detour from the busy lakeshore. The name comes from the Irish Righ Fearta, meaning burial place of the kings, traditionally linked to the local O'Toole rulers. The ruin sits quietly in woodland, screened by trees and easy to walk past when the lake paths are full of people. Once you step into the graveyard, the noise drops away.

Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop here

Map

Where it is

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SightReefert Church53.00422, -6.34692

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Plan your stop

Before you go

Best time to go

Early morning and late afternoon bring low light through the trees, which suits photographs of the doorway and grave slabs. The tree cover keeps the interior shaded for much of the day. Because the ruin is set back from the main lake path, it stays calmer than the lakeshore even when the valley is busy.

Getting there from the Upper Lake

Waymarked walks start and finish at the National Park Information Office near the Upper Lake and are signposted throughout. The Poulanass and St Kevin's Cell route is about 1 km, takes roughly 30 minutes, follows forest road and track, and climbs about 85 m. Reefert Church is a recommended short detour from this route. From the nearest path, the ruin is reached by a short gravel path with several steps up into the graveyard.

3 active Wicklow Mountains alerts

CautionExtreme upland fire riskDo not use solid-fuel BBQs in Wicklow Mountains National Park, and take extreme care with cigarettes and other naked flames because the hills are dry and at extreme risk of fire.Official details
CautionGlendalough Spinc trail works and intermittent disruptionsExpect intermittent disruption on the Glendalough Spinc trails while NPWS upgrades the White Trail.Official details

See all 3 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Wicklow Mountains Tour Guide

Your drive to Reefert Church, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Wicklow Mountains National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this place

Glendalough Upper Lake

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“You’re coming up on the access to Glendalough’s Upper Lake. If you’d enjoy a quiet detour, look for Reefert Church, tucked into the woods near the lake paths.”

Plays as you drive up to Reefert Church in the Parkwolf Wicklow Mountains Tour Guide.

More about Reefert Church

What to seeThe church is a simple nave-and-chancel granite building of the 11th or early 12th century, and…

The church is a simple nave-and-chancel granite building of the 11th or early 12th century, and among the earliest surviving examples of that plan in Ireland. It may stand on the site of an earlier church.

Several cross-slabs from the site are now kept in the visitor centre, and part of the altar was moved to St Kevin's Church. Much of the wall around the graveyard is modern, and the upper church walls were rebuilt over a century ago using the original stones.

Massive-lintel doorway in the west wall
Small round-headed windows
Projecting roof corbels on the exterior walls
Grave markers from the 12th century and earlier, including plain crosses and one carved with interlace
The graveyard was once enclosed by a caiseal, an old stone enclosure

Steps and footingThe final approach is a short gravel path with several steps up into the graveyard.

The final approach is a short gravel path with several steps up into the graveyard. Connecting paths nearby include dirt surfaces and further steps. Footwear with grip is sensible.

Honest drawbacksThe ruin is hidden among trees and simple to miss without watching for the turn.

The ruin is hidden among trees and simple to miss without watching for the turn.
Only walls, windows and grave markers survive, so there is little to see beyond the stonework itself.
No confirmed facilities at the church. The main Upper Lake visitor area has parking, toilets, drinking water, and the National Park Information Office and Museum.
The steps mean the graveyard is not reachable on a level surface.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Wicklow Mountains

All Wicklow Mountains wildlife maps

204 sightingsSika DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

18 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

15 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

11 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map

28 sightingsEuropean Common FrogMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

11 sightingsViviparous LizardMost seen around 11 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Wicklow Mountains. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.